Boparan offer details revealed

BOPARAN Holdings has announced its €402 million offer document for the purchase of Northern Foods was posted to the group’s shareholders yesterday.

On January 21 both sides announced an agreement had been reached on the all-cash offer in favour of the agreed merger it has reached with the Irish registered group, Greencore, in mid-November 2010.

The offer will remain open for acceptance until 1pm on March 2, 2011.

In its document, BH Acquisitions, the takeover vehicle of Boparan, says it believes the Stg73p cash offer for Northern Foods shares, which values the group at Stg£342m “is a highly attractive offer”.

It provides Northern Foods’ shareholders with the “certainty” of a full cash offer and a significant premium to Northern Foods’ pre-Greencore merger announcement “and to the terms implied by the Greencore Merger.” BH Acquisitions also noted the offer has “a unanimous recommendation” of the Northern Foods’ board.

Since the counter bid Greencore said it understood the importance of the cash factor in the BH offer.

Greencore chief executive Patrick Coveney said, after the group’s recent agm in Dublin, he still viewed the merger proposal as the best way forward for Northern Foods.

He refused to say if the group had the will to take on Boparan with a full cash offer in the period ahead.

The markets expect Greencore not to get involved in a total bidding war.